Spring 2001

DCPL Open House Plays Key Role In Rescuing Endangered Recorder of Deeds Building

By Farleigh Earhart and Alexander M. Padro

On February 15, in conjunction with the Art Deco Society of Washington and with the cooperation of Henry Riley, Acting Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, DCPL sponsored an open house at the Recorder of Deeds building at 515 D. St., NW, one of the Art Deco/Art Moderne municipal buildings included on the League's Most Endangered Places Est. The event, which coincided with the 3rd-3rsday Arts crawl and the League's Most Endangered Happy Hour, attracted nearly 300 visitors to the building.

Within the Recorder of Deeds building, participants found a treasure-trove of artwork honoring the contributions of African Americans in US history. On tours of the building led by DCPL representatives, Jerry Maronek and Alexander Padro, and Recorder of Deeds employees, Larry Todd and John Mowery, attendees admired murals selected in a national competition held in 1942-1943 by the Section of Fine Arts of the Public Buildings Administration.

The theme of the competition, "the contribution of the Negro to the American Nation," as well as the individual subjects of the murals were selected by William J. Thompkins, a member of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "black cabinet," who served as Recorder of Deeds from 1934-1944. Among the heroes depicted are Crispus Attucks, the first martyr of the American Revolution, the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, led by Colonel Robert G. Shaw, and seaman Cyrus Tiffany, who saved the life of Commodore Perry during the battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812- In the building's travertine marble lobby, visitors viewed portraits of twelve Recorder of Deeds (ten of whom are African American), including Frederick Douglass, who was appointed by President James Garfield as the first Black Recorder in 1881.

Tour participant Carl Cole remembered being brought to visit the budding as a DC public school student in the later 1940s. The Recorder of Deeds building apparently was a regular field trip destination for school children during what was known as Negro "story Week, in the years before the integration of DC Public Schools in 1952. The February 15th event was the first recorded public tour of the building in nearly half a century.

The event drew attention to the uncertain future of the building, which is almost completely unaltered despite nearly 60 years of constant use. Located on prime downtown real estate, the four-story building, designed by municipal architect Nathan C. Mlyeth and completed in 1942, had been eyed by the owner of an adjacent office building as a potential space for expansion.

Shortly before the tour date, Padro learned that Mayor Anthony Williams had asked Council Chair Linda Cropp to introduce legislation authorizing the DC Department of Housing and Community Development to negotiate the disposition of the ROD building. Scrambling to inform the media and Council members of the threat to this historic landmark, Padro was able to generate coverage of the tour and the building's plight by Tom Sherwood of News Channel 4, the City Paper and the Washington Business Journal.

In the weeks following the tour, Padro and Maronek led Councilmembers Jim Graham and Phil Mendelson, chairman and member, respectively, of the Council committee that has oversight over public buildings, on private tours of the Art Moderne structure. Both expressed distress over the lack of maintenance and pledged to do what they could to start the restoration process. Shortly after a major editorial by Padro in the Washington Post drew further attention to the building's plight, the mayor withdrew his proposed legislation calling for the landmark's sale.

In April, Graham's committee recommended transferring $2 million in unused Office of Property Management funds for use in renovating the building. The motion appeared headed for approval by the Council's Committee of the Whole.

But the threat is not over. The Benjamin Banneker mural was damaged by steam venting problems shortly after the tour. The very lack of alteration that makes the building so easy to restore to its former glory also makes for uncomfortable working conditions. As a result of the modernization of the agency's processes, the Recorder of Deeds no longer needs all of the space in its historic home. Acting Recorder Riley has said that the agency could operate efficiently on the upper two floors, leaving the main floor, with its majestic lobby, and the ground floor for possible use as a visitor center for the city's African American landmarks (*in conjunction with the forthcoming City Museum at Mount Vernon Square), and space for rotating exhibits celebrating the Black experience in DC and honoring the accomplishments of African Americans. Despite these intentions, it remains possible that the agency could be ordered to move from the building, paving way for the city to once again try to sell the building to developers.

The League and the Art Deco Society of Washington will be submitting an application shortly to designate the ROD building as an individual landmark. Only when the building achieves local and national historic landmark designation, and restoration is underway, will preservationist breathe a sigh of relief and count this as a victory.

The Recorder of Deeds Building is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. A handout describing the building's history and artwork, prepared by Alexander Padro, is available at the guard station or from the League.